Yu-Na Kim News UPDATE!

The only people who can beat Yu-Na at 80% are probably Ashley or Mao, but both of them would have to be 100%+ in order for that to happen.

If Yu-Na's 3-3 (whether 3Lz-3T or 3F-3T) is back and the rest of her jumps are good, she'll be at the top with no problem. But if she's a little sloppy (ie. like she was at worlds in 2011) I don't think the judges will hold her up over someone if they skate lights out.

Hoping her physical and mental conditioning will be at its best when it counts. The lack of competition experience could be the toughest challenge come Worlds, so it is a prudent move for her to be getting her programs out there and experiencing competition once again. With Four Continents in Asia this year, I wonder if she will plan on competing there as well. If she does, you can bet tickets will be sold out in a heart beat.

She won&#8217;t be competing at 4CC due to schedule conflict with Special Olympics in PyeongChang which is to be held in the same period. Her only other competition event between NRW and Worlds will be Korean Nationals in January.

She won&#8217;t be competing at 4CC due to schedule conflict with Special Olympics in PyeongChang which is to be held in the same period. Her only other competition event between NRW and Worlds will be Korean Nationals in January.

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Hmm, I know she already has commitments to the Special Olympics and will not back out of it but it would be smart for her to compete at 4CC.

Hmm, I know she already has commitments to the Special Olympics and will not back out of it but it would be smart for her to compete at 4CC.

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Who knows, maybe the Special Olympics commitment takes higher priority in her book than the preparation for the Worlds.

And I wonder how high a value or credential she would place on the ISU World title itself, after she had witnessed a skater who skipped 20 pages out of 250 in 2008 and another skater who memorized a dummy-series pamphlet in 2011 being handed out the gold.

Who knows, maybe the Special Olympics commitment takes higher priority in her book than the preparation for the Worlds.

And I wonder how high a value or credential she would place on the ISU World title itself, after she had witnessed a skater who skipped 20 pages out of 250 in 2008 and another skater who memorized a dummy-series pamphlet in 2011 being handed out the gold.

^ Thanks! It looks like a good program for Yu Na re the music and the choreo. The video isn't sharp enough to see how well she's emoting, but for her debut of this program, not bad. I'd like to see something more fierce and edgy in the styling of her costume to fit the theme of the music. Plus I think she needs to ramp it up re more emotion and expressing the music because right now it looks more like she's going through the motions of getting through the program, but it was a decent job.

^ Thanks! It looks like a good program for Yu Na re the music and the choreo. The video isn't sharp enough to see how well she's emoting, but for her debut of this program, not bad. I'd like to see something more fierce and edgy in the styling of her costume to fit the theme of the music. Plus I think she needs to ramp it up re more emotion and expressing the music because right now it looks more like she's going through the motions of getting through the program, but it was a decent job.

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In this interview Yuna mentions her being less emoting and focusing on elements more.

"My main goal today was to get at least 28 technical points, which are required now to be allowed to go to worlds again; therefore, I concentrated more on the technical aspect here and not so much on expression," Kim said. "I know that I have to work more on [adding] emotion in the future, but tomorrow, in the free skate, I will have less stress."

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"I tried to stay calm because if you get nervous, you sometimes make silly mistakes," she said. "As this is a small competition here, it is easier to stay calm. I got nervous only a few minutes before the competition, but I still could do my routine well and I am happy overall with my performance today. I will do a level check after the competition and see where I can improve."

The jumps are great. However, her leg line is one of the ugliest in figure skating. Her foot is perpetually flexed and knee never stretched out. Very sloppy, unpolished look. Despite the excellent jumping techniques and other athletic qualities, I can never be a fan.

I agree with the feet part. I have always been distracted by that and although I do like her other great qualities, her feet have always bothered me. You would think someone would have addressed that over the years, but why bother if you're already rewarded with fantastic marks? It's in the eye of the beholder, i guess.

That was a well skated program and you can see she is well on her way to being competitive with the top ladies again.

I do think her line and feet are not so pretty as Alissa or Mao, but I have never been distracted by it at all. Especially when I watch live, I was always awed by her skating. Some people complains about her spins and spiral, but they were very impressive at live - it was fast! OTOH, Mao has very beautiful line and position in her spins and spirals, but it was so slow, so it distracted me a lot. I think it's a personal preference.
Anyway, Yuna was gorgeous as usual! Welcome back, Yuna!

I have seen Yuna live. As mentioned, below the ankle she is a great skater as well as an extremely beautiful jumper. But figure skating is more than jumps and speed skating IMO. This used to be my beef with Carolina Kostner until she morphed into a sophisticated artist.

You are right, liv, why should Yuna correct anything about her skating when the judges reward her with huge scores already? She should get big tech and SS scores but the rest of PCS should reflect the lack of aesthetic effort but never does.

Her Bielmann position bothers me as well. Not that it should make it or break it but I wonder how she did on her spins, level-wise.

Figure skating is more than pretty position (or beautiful feet?!) IMO I'd like to see someone who can land jumps, skate beautifully with effortless speed, express nuance of the music very well. Pretty feet without jumps, speed, musicality, artistry is nothing to me at all. I'd rather see ballet...
And personally, I don't think Yuna's line that ugly. Not beautiful, but not ugly IMO. All of these are personal taste and preference, so we can't tell who's right or who is wrong.

I have seen Yuna live. As mentioned, below the ankle she is a great skater as well as an extremely beautiful jumper. But figure skating is more than jumps and speed skating IMO. This used to be my beef with Carolina Kostner until she morphed into a sophisticated artist.

You are right, liv, why should Yuna correct anything about her skating when the judges reward her with huge scores already? She should get big tech and SS scores but the rest of PCS should reflect the lack of aesthetic effort but never does.

Her Bielmann position bothers me as well. Not that it should make it or break it but I wonder how she did on her spins, level-wise.

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Which pcs item is affected by leg line?
YuNa's past performances are each one of the most beautiful and spectacular in history for many skating fans. There may be people who don't like her performance, but there are many more who love it.

IMO her line is absolutely fine, exquisite even, above her feet. That has been my lingering feelings whenever I watch her layback spin or spiral, wishing she could stretch them a bit more, but she maintains amazing speed throughout, and like I said, her above-feet-line is as much balletic as one can get. So, I don't think she lacks aesthetic effort in her performances at all.

I have seen Yuna live. As mentioned, below the ankle she is a great skater as well as an extremely beautiful jumper. But figure skating is more than jumps and speed skating IMO..

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Below the ankle athletic? I dont get what it means. All great athletes and performers are well- balanced in form IMO.

Its not only athleticism that made Yu-Na a superstar. She became one because shes a master PERFORMER and knows how to use her body  every part of it, big or small  in subtle, nuanced ways. Shes a natural dancer. Her lower body flexibility is just average, but her upper body flexibility and agility is exceptional. Add her uncanny ability in coordinating movements, and her feel for the rhythm/music and perceptivity to the themes, VIOLA! A star performer is born.

And how did she become masterful? By polishing after polishing until the core and pure choreographic elements are left free of redundancies, each of them complete by itself and seamlessly incorporated into the routine.

If you dont get this, well, Yu-Na is not your cup of tea. I wasnt saying shes perfect, of course.

Anyway..

This is not exactly Yu-Na news, but Jin-Seo Kim, who is with Yu-Nas management company ATS, placed 3rd after SP at NRW, with score of 69.65 (TES 38.33, PCS 31.32). Hes now cleared to go to ISU Worlds.

It&#8217;s not only athleticism that made Yu-Na a superstar. She became one because she&#8217;s a master PERFORMER and knows how to use her body &#8211; every part of it, big or small &#8211; in subtle, nuanced ways. She&#8217;s a natural dancer. Her lower body flexibility is just average, but her upper body flexibility and agility is exceptional. Add her uncanny ability in coordinating movements, and her feel for the rhythm/music and perceptivity to the themes, VIOLA! A star performer is born.

That's a very accurate description. The only thing I don't like about Yu na is her spiral, but that's a very small part of the program. She does many small/nuanced movements in her skate that make her extraordinary, artistically, and she is a very strong jumper.

To me, Yuna is one of the best jumpers ever. When she nails it, it's gorgeous, big, text book and easy. Besides, she generates immense power from her blades which allows her to cover the ice exceptionally well as in her spiral. Her spiral is a good example of wonderful edge control and power and poor above the ankle position. Another thing is I am not a big fan of her interpretation. I don't see her using small movements and details like Chan and don't see her performing all-out like Daisuke Takahashi or Kwan or Suzuki. I also don't see the gorgeous body lines like Asada or Cohen. Yuna rarely stretches to her fingertips, rarely extends.

That said, in the LP above, she does hit several nice, aesthetically pleasing positions. She obviously has the potential/ability to stretch and present a nicer body line but no incentive whatsoever.

I really like her long program. I like that it's not melodramatic. With more polish, it could be spectacular.

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For someone that's been away from competitions for 20 months, she looks amazing. One fall, one singled axel, but rest of her jumps look solid.....two very good triple lutzes, including a 3L3t combination! She has not lost anything artistically. IMO for that program 201 are too high marks. Rest of the ladies should be worried though. Not many are doing even one correct 3lutz. The program looks simple choreographically, but I am sure she will add more complexity later. This is going to raise the standard of ladies skating again. May be Mao needs to bring back her 3A, since she cannot do a correct lutz.

^ Yes, she&#8217;s amazing, isn&#8217;t she. 20 months is a long break to overcome in a short period, but she did. Plushy&#8217;s comeback in 2009-2010 at 27 after 3 years off was truly impressive, too.

I think Yu-Na&#8217;s Les Mis LP is packed with choreography. We may never see a clean skate out of it even when she gives it more time, since the program is packed. Still, I think it&#8217;ll be spectacular, even with a mistake or two.

^ Yes, she&#8217;s amazing, isn&#8217;t she. 20 months is a long break to overcome in a short period, but she did. Plushy&#8217;s comeback in 2009-2010 at 27 after 3 years off was truly impressive, too.

I think Yu-Na&#8217;s Les Mis LP is packed with choreography. We may never see a clean skate out of it even when she gives it more time, since the program is packed. Still, I think it&#8217;ll be spectacular, even with a mistake or two.

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Not as much "packed" as Patrick's LP or Mao's LP(btw Mao's Swan Lake is just amazing coming from Tarasova AND Mao), though. I think there exist some room that she and David can fill in more marvelously.

Not as much "packed" as Patrick's LP or Mao's LP(btw Mao's Swan Lake is just amazing coming from Tarasova AND Mao), though. I think there exist some room that she and David can fill in more marvelously.

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I agree that Patrick's LP is packed with choreography and difficult transitions. I doubt if he can skate clean, because it looks so difficult! He definitely deserves to get huge PCS.
But I have to disagree about Mao's program. Her LP is lovely, but it looks empty to me. I don't see any difficult, special transitions or choreography in this program. Just very basic edges and steps which give the illusion of transitions. Her footwork is great though. I don't know why, but I prefer her SP. It's delightful!
As for Yuna's LP, the program needs to be more polished and refined, but I think it's a very great program. I love it
Not sure about her SP though I liked and enjoyed it before the step sequence. I think David is very creative, and makes a great program overall, but his weakest point is step sequence, IMO.